Published: Monday, April 30, 2012 at 10:49 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 30, 2012 at 10:49 a.m.

Every Thursday evening, a group of about 10 students gathers at Houma's Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum with workbooks and hefty language dictionaries.

They practice speaking to each other in local French, trying out words and sentences and memorizing the proper terms.

Learning a second language can be a hobby or an attempt to reconnect with one's roots. But for these students, there's another goal: To save a dying local language.

“I grew up with my mom and all my family speaking French,” said Theresa Picou, 52, a Raceland resident. “It's a part of the culture that I want to stay. To me, learning the language makes you feel a sense of belonging.”

Swampy Louisiana regional French tones have long been a unique part of life in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and a link to the culture. But most of the area's youngest residents have not learned the language from their elders, leaving Cajun French with an uncertain future.

“Chances are, in all honesty, the language is going to die,” said Nathalie Dajko, a linguistics professor at Tulane University who studied the regional French of Terrebonne and Lafourche. “I know very few children who speak it. That's the death knell for a language.”

South Louisiana is home to one of the largest French-speaking populations in the United States. But according to the U.S. Census, about 15,000 people in Louisiana speak Cajun French, and that number is dropping.

The local language is called Cajun French by many, but officials with CODOFIL, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, prefer the term “Louisiana French,” because it's more inclusive of the many racial groups that traditionally speak French in the state, including local Native Americans.

The local French is descended from Acadian French spoken by the Cajuns' ancestors. It was brought to Louisiana when the Acadians were expelled by the British from what is now part of Canada, and mixed with a number of other languages including Spanish and Native American dialects.

But during the early part of the 20th century, attempts were made to suppress Cajun culture, and Cajun children were often forbidden to speak French in school and were punished, sometimes physically, in an attempt to force them to speak English.

This traumatic experience convinced many Cajuns not to teach the language to their children in hopes they would blend in better and would not face the same difficulties their parents had.

“My mom and dad both spoke a lot of Cajun French in our home,” said Josephine Boudreaux Rodrigue of Houma. “Mama never taught us the Cajun French language because when she started public school the teachers would hit the children with a stick for speaking French instead of English, and she didn't want her children to get ridiculed like she did as a child.”

Betty Savoie, 77, a Houma resident originally from south Lafourche, vividly remembers being punished for speaking French at Galliano Elementary School as a child.

When she started school, she spoke no English, only French. It was all her family spoke. Teachers would punish her by making her write out her spelling words and other lessons when she spoke in French.

“I became a great speller because I'd have to write my spelling words for a week,” she said. “My children would know French if I hadn't been punished so much for speaking it.”

To save a dying language like Louisiana French is possible, but it takes a serious community effort, Dajko said.

There are still enough people speaking local French that it would be possible to revive, but not easily, she said. French-speaking grandparents need to speak to their grandchildren in French from the moment they're born. Children learn new languages easier, she said, and knowing multiple languages has actually been shown to improve school performance.

“People think it should come easily because this is their heritage language,” Dajko said. “It's not easier than learning any other foreign language.”

There are many local efforts underway to keep Louisiana French alive.

Every first and third Saturday of the month in Houma, a group of French-speaking residents meets at the Bayou Cane Coffee Shop to eat breakfast and converse in French at a gathering called the French Table. On a recent weekend, just four residents showed up, but sometimes dozens attend.

“People are under the illusion that no one speaks French anymore,” said Ray Malbrough, 60, a Houma resident. “The idea is to meet in a public place so people can hear us speaking French.”

At 5:30 p.m. Mondays at the Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, 314 St. Mary St., Thibodaux, Cajun accordionist, singer and instructor Jerry Moody holds a Cajun music jam. The jam focuses on traditional local music and is sung in French.

“We need to promote Cajun music and culture,” Moody said. “Hopefully it inspires other people to pick up and follow their passion.”

Houma resident Rocky McKeon teaches Louisiana French classes at 6 p.m. Thursdays at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum, 7910 Park Ave. in Houma. McKeon also promotes the local French language through his rock band, Isle Dernière.

Louisiana French needs to evolve to be appealing to young people, he said, one of the ways he does that is by singing modern rock songs in regional French.

“For a language to survive we have to make it relevant,” he said.

It also needs to be seen by the community as an asset, he added. Embracing French could make the area more appealing as a tourist destination, embracing our uniqueness and giving cities such as Houma a more international flair.

Savoie recalled shopping in a store with a friend in New Orleans. The two were “rattling away in French” when a woman appeared from behind the clothes rack ecstatic to hear the two women conversing in French.

“She appeared on the scene and said, ‘Oh my God, you don't know how that makes me feel to hear two people conversing in French. I'm from France,'” she said. “I wish I had taught my children,” she said. “It's getting hard to find people to speak French with in Houma. It's our culture.”

Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

<p>Every Thursday evening, a group of about 10 students gathers at Houma's Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum with workbooks and hefty language dictionaries. </p><p>They practice speaking to each other in local French, trying out words and sentences and memorizing the proper terms.</p><p>Learning a second language can be a hobby or an attempt to reconnect with one's roots. But for these students, there's another goal: To save a dying local language.</p><p>“I grew up with my mom and all my family speaking French,” said Theresa Picou, 52, a Raceland resident. “It's a part of the culture that I want to stay. To me, learning the language makes you feel a sense of belonging.”</p><p>Swampy Louisiana regional French tones have long been a unique part of life in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and a link to the culture. But most of the area's youngest residents have not learned the language from their elders, leaving Cajun French with an uncertain future.</p><p>“Chances are, in all honesty, the language is going to die,” said Nathalie Dajko, a linguistics professor at Tulane University who studied the regional French of Terrebonne and Lafourche. “I know very few children who speak it. That's the death knell for a language.”</p><p>South Louisiana is home to one of the largest French-speaking populations in the United States. But according to the U.S. Census, about 15,000 people in Louisiana speak Cajun French, and that number is dropping.</p><p>The local language is called Cajun French by many, but officials with CODOFIL, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, prefer the term “Louisiana French,” because it's more inclusive of the many racial groups that traditionally speak French in the state, including local Native Americans.</p><p>The local French is descended from Acadian French spoken by the Cajuns' ancestors. It was brought to Louisiana when the Acadians were expelled by the British from what is now part of Canada, and mixed with a number of other languages including Spanish and Native American dialects.</p><p>But during the early part of the 20th century, attempts were made to suppress Cajun culture, and Cajun children were often forbidden to speak French in school and were punished, sometimes physically, in an attempt to force them to speak English.</p><p>This traumatic experience convinced many Cajuns not to teach the language to their children in hopes they would blend in better and would not face the same difficulties their parents had.</p><p>“My mom and dad both spoke a lot of Cajun French in our home,” said Josephine Boudreaux Rodrigue of Houma. “Mama never taught us the Cajun French language because when she started public school the teachers would hit the children with a stick for speaking French instead of English, and she didn't want her children to get ridiculed like she did as a child.”</p><p>Betty Savoie, 77, a Houma resident originally from south Lafourche, vividly remembers being punished for speaking French at Galliano Elementary School as a child.</p><p>When she started school, she spoke no English, only French. It was all her family spoke. Teachers would punish her by making her write out her spelling words and other lessons when she spoke in French.</p><p>“I became a great speller because I'd have to write my spelling words for a week,” she said. “My children would know French if I hadn't been punished so much for speaking it.”</p><p>To save a dying language like Louisiana French is possible, but it takes a serious community effort, Dajko said.</p><p>There are still enough people speaking local French that it would be possible to revive, but not easily, she said. French-speaking grandparents need to speak to their grandchildren in French from the moment they're born. Children learn new languages easier, she said, and knowing multiple languages has actually been shown to improve school performance.</p><p>“People think it should come easily because this is their heritage language,” Dajko said. “It's not easier than learning any other foreign language.”</p><p>There are many local efforts underway to keep Louisiana French alive. </p><p>Every first and third Saturday of the month in Houma, a group of French-speaking residents meets at the Bayou Cane Coffee Shop to eat breakfast and converse in French at a gathering called the French Table. On a recent weekend, just four residents showed up, but sometimes dozens attend.</p><p>“People are under the illusion that no one speaks French anymore,” said Ray Malbrough, 60, a Houma resident. “The idea is to meet in a public place so people can hear us speaking French.”</p><p>At 5:30 p.m. Mondays at the Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, 314 St. Mary St., Thibodaux, Cajun accordionist, singer and instructor Jerry Moody holds a Cajun music jam. The jam focuses on traditional local music and is sung in French.</p><p>“We need to promote Cajun music and culture,” Moody said. “Hopefully it inspires other people to pick up and follow their passion.”</p><p>Houma resident Rocky McKeon teaches Louisiana French classes at 6 p.m. Thursdays at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum, 7910 Park Ave. in Houma. McKeon also promotes the local French language through his rock band, Isle Dernière.</p><p>Louisiana French needs to evolve to be appealing to young people, he said, one of the ways he does that is by singing modern rock songs in regional French.</p><p>“For a language to survive we have to make it relevant,” he said.</p><p>It also needs to be seen by the community as an asset, he added. Embracing French could make the area more appealing as a tourist destination, embracing our uniqueness and giving cities such as Houma a more international flair.</p><p>Savoie recalled shopping in a store with a friend in New Orleans. The two were “rattling away in French” when a woman appeared from behind the clothes rack ecstatic to hear the two women conversing in French.</p><p>“She appeared on the scene and said, 'Oh my God, you don't know how that makes me feel to hear two people conversing in French. I'm from France,'” she said. “I wish I had taught my children,” she said. “It's getting hard to find people to speak French with in Houma. It's our culture.”</p><p>Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.</p>